I can't believe I forgot this!

Yesterday, in my conversation with Babushko, he commented on my ring. I bought it in California a couple years ago. The woman who sold it to me claimed it was an old Afghani tribal seal, about 1,000 years old, and set into a ring about 50 years ago. Mmmm, could be, but I'm not running off to Sotheby's any time soon. It's a fairly sizeable ring. The stone is red and oval shaped, about a half an inch by three quarters of an inch. On the stone is carved an animal of some kind, maybe a horse. Above the animal is a sideways oval with two horizonal lines, kind of like "011." I don't know what the stone is, and I'm not sure if I believe it is 1,000 years old, but I love the ring.

Apparently my new friend likes it too.

Red is my favorite color too!

I left for the bus this morning and as usual, I forgot something. I was already running late, so I went to the bus stop at the Chargrill. Babushko was there, decked out in red. Red Nautica jacket (which cracks me up because it's Nautica), a red shirt, tan pants about an inch and a half too short, which revealed red socks. I walked over to me as I got to the stop. He actually started talking to me too! He kept saying "my favorite color red" over and over. I wasn't wearing red but I figured it out. I told him he looked very nice. He did actually. Red is a good color for him. Anyway, he went in to his "nicest lady of them all" routine for a minute or two, then he tells me about this organ performance at a local church in about a month. He's going. He likes organ music. The event is free. I may actually go. It would be fun to hang with him. I do kind of like organ music.

So now I know that when I make him his hat and scarf, it needs to be red.

Progress.

I had quite the crazy day today. I just enrolled in school. I'll take HR course work towards a certificate in Human Resources Management. (You know we love our certificates.) Actually, it will be a great program. It's five classes total. While working full time, I expect to take three semesters. Today, I signed up, found out my company approves this and will pay for it, and that both classes I want this Fall semester are both online classes! Yay!!!! Since the classes are online, they won't interfere with the drawing and printmaking classes I also want to take this Fall through the Raleigh Arts Council. Yes, I realize my priorities *may* be a bit *different* from what you might choose.

I also learned today that Babushko goes to work everyday. Yessiree. He works for the EPA. (In his crazy polyester pants that are six inches too short!) I saw his badge. Crazy. I have to wonder what he does.

Since I can't think of anything else to say, I leave you with this. Miles Davis on the Steve Allen Show. Cheers!

The gods, they smile on me.

What a day, peoples! What a day! Yesterday morning, I had some bread in my lunch box, a multigrain bread with millet, flax and sesame seeds. While I was waiting at the bus stop, the sparrows were hopping around, foraging in the Char-grill parking lot. If you're a bird, it's apparently a good place to look for breakfast. I pulled out the bread and started feeding the birds. It appears as though they remembered me. I sat down on the bench, and was greeted by a ballsy little sparrow who came close enough I could have pet him. He chirped at me. While this was happening, Babushko walked up. It was very cold this morning. Today, he wore his long black trench coat, gold corduroys long enough to cover his ankles and one gardening glove. He did not have his silk plaid scarf with him. He stood by the other bench for a few minutes, then walked over to me. He said, "Nicest lady of them all" a few times then walked over to the other bench. He repeated this a few times before the bus came. I think I might knit him a nice warm hat, scarf and gloves.

Recently, I've been taking an earlier bus because the one I normally take has been running very late. This morning, I decided to take a chance that it was running on time. The bus pulled up at the stop and who was behind the wheel? Boyfriend. Seriously. I must have looked pretty surprised because he started laughing. He mentioned he was filling in this morning. He normally only drives that route on Thursdays. The one thing I will say for the man, he's damn patient. An Asian woman got on near Meredith. She proudly announced to all of us several times that it was her first time riding the bus. I can only assume she meant first time ever in her life as she seems rather baffled by the process of paying for said bus ride. She couldn't figure out how to pay. Boyfriend seemed to sense we'd be there all day if he waited for her, so he told her to go sit down. She then thinks that this means bus virgins ride free. It took three people to convince her she had to pay. She is then confused as to how she is going to get to where she needs to go. She is going to Durham. Boyfriend says he'll show her which bus to take. She sits down next to the rack with the schedules, which she proceeded to tidy up. She pulls out the right schedule she needs for the second leg of her maiden voyage, but doesn't know how to read it. By this time, we've past the Park and Ride where The Other Amy got on. (Her work badge says IBM, but she wears a fleece jacket with the GoTriangle.org logo on it. I can't figure it out.) So, this Asian woman gets up and goes over to The Other Amy and asks for help. Amy was sitting quietly reading a book. I am not quite sure what it is about her, but she appears to exudes a "come hither" vibe to all the resident crazies. The Other Amy...Friend to all the animals. Amy gives her a crash course on reading schedules. During this exchange, Babushko is sitting next to me and is calling me the nicest lady of all. There's another woman behind me. She has that aura of someone with mental illness self medicating and trying to pass for a regular member of society. As usual, I had the headphones on. This woman barely taps me on the shoulder and asks me which bus can she take to go to Chapel Hill and ride around all day. She made it clear she didn't want to actually go to Chapel Hill, but rather ride around as long as possible. I told her I didn't know, because I really don't. She clarified what she wanted. I advised her I still didn't know. She then turns to The Other Amy for guidance. Once the Asian woman was settled in, she made a phone call. She covered her mouth and bottom of the phone with her hand like it was a secret. The funny thing is that I'm pretty sure she was speaking in Mandarin. Amy Number One was MIA today. I can't begin to imagine what she would have added to the mix.

When I go home, I went to visit my neighbor, Mary Jane. Mary Jane is 86, I think. She moved into Chez St Mary's on October 1, 1959. Eisenhower was in office, Alaska became a state, and there was much turmoil in Tibet. Barbie made her debut. Yours truly wouldn't make her debut for thirteen years and four days after Mary Jane moved in. As far as I know, she never married and never had children. She has a boatload of nieces and nephews. Nine exactly, who in turn collectively have 21 great nieces and nephews, who in turn collectively have 21 and a half great-great nieces and nephews for her. She showed me pictures. We talked. She has pictures of most of the residents of the building over the years. The guy who moved out of my apartment in November was a babe. She took my picture to add to the album. She is a really sweet lady. I need to visit her more often. She was close to my age when she moved in. I have to admit, there is a part of me that views her as The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come except nicer and worried if i go out after dark.

Today's observations

I haven't seen Babushko in about a week. Perhaps he took a trip for Easter. Where would he go?

The vet school has about a dozen new calves in their herd. I'm still waiting on confirmation, but it looks like they couldn't be any cuter. Most days when the bus drives by, they are all laying in the grass together. I also noticed that there is a Chik-Fil-A billboard within sight of this particular pasture. It's the kind of sign that has one cow statue standing on the other cow statue like they are painting the sign. I wonder if the cows see it. If they do, what do they think about it?

MSG (metro Sexual Guy) was on the bus tonight. Still rocking the bowl cut. He was wearing the ultimate London Hipster finery...yet another pair of Pumas (I'm going to start counting), his painted-on jeans, not one, but two track jackets, and a Manchester United shirt. Now I know it'll never work out between us. I've always been more of an Arsenal girl myself. He was sitting on the other side of the bus when we left RTP, but a couple stops later when the seat in front of me opened up, he moved over. The sassy bus driver, Funquita, was giving him a hard time because she accused him of sneaking on the bus. He then swiped his pass again and challenged her to find a passenger who would agree with her. Up until this point, it was amusing to watch their repartee, as it were. It became even more amusing when he turned around and tried to enlist my help to plead his case. Luckily I had pulled out my book and iPhone long before. I pretended not to notice. I am beginning to regret that decision. Next time I will engage him in a conversation and see what I can get out of him.

Lately, on certain busses, I've been smelling something. Not your usual BO, too much perfume, stale cigarettes, etc. Waffle cones. I've been smelling waffle cones. I'm not sure what that means. Am I going to have a seizure? Or maybe that's when you smell toast. Am I craving Ben and Jerry's? That may well be. It's bizarre. I can't figure it out. Certainly some old, rickety city bus with 200,000 miles on it wouldn't naturally smell like that. People don't usually smell like waffle cones. At least not the ones I know.

Babushko

In the morning, I wait for the bus at the Chargrill. Most mornings, a tiny old man is waiting there. Some days, his pants are about 3 inches too short, exposing his white tube socks. He carries a blue tote bag, stuffed to the gills. When it's cold, he ties a ratty, plaid silk scarf around his head like a little old Polish lady. I can't figure this guy out. He makes noises, somewhere between a grunt and mumbling under his breath. He seems to fall somewhere between a crazy person and a stroke victim. I usually can't make out what he's saying. He doesn't smile. He'll pick up the trash out in front of Chargrill.

When I arrive in the morning, I usually sit down on one of the benches. When Babushko realizes I'm there, he'll pick up his tote bag and walk over to where I am sitting. He stands about a foot away, grumbles and walks back to where he was, with his back to me. Is he saying hello? Is he damning me to the firey depths of hell? I just don't know. I have to admit, he made me a little nervous at first. When he "greets" me in the morning, I smile. I lose track of him in the morning when we get to RTP. I'm not sure where he goes.

He absolutely refuses to get on the bus before I do. No matter how many people are there, he makes sure the women get on the bus, then everyone else can board. This morning, I was able to make out "ladies first" as I was getting on the bus.

I really would like to know where he goes.